Hello everyone, we're excited to have you here with us today and I hope you got your Bible with you. We'd like for you to be able to get your Bible out and look at these scriptures that we're going to be talking about because it seems like it just so much increases our ability to grasp hold of not just what's being said but when you can see it for yourself, you know, because I know that God's word if we can get it down on the inside of us, it begins to change the way we live our lives. It causes things to happen in our lives, it's good, you know, what we're used to struggle with. It's really our answer and our key to everything.
And so Melissa and I are really excited about this privilege that comes to you, we'll be talking about faith and we'll be talking about the faith in the life of a believer. You know, we hear people say all the time, you know, well I don't have faith, well we're going to look at that and just find some answers about that right now. Amen. Amen.
Once you go ahead and start with Romans 12. I got something I just came to me, I'm going to inject in there when you get changed, go ahead. Romans 12 and 3, for I say, through the grace given unto me to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according, as God has dealt to every man, the measure of faith. And we talked some before about what faith is and the reason that we need faith and now we're going to talk about who has faith and the last part of the scripture says that God has dealt to every man, the measure of faith.
And it's important too when you're reading that, if you're just a casual reader of the Bible or so many things you're going to pass over, I am so adamant about, you know, you need to be a student of the Bible, you need to study the Bible, get past Jesus, I mean it's good to read it casually, but you need to go further than that. There's a lot of people who look at that and they say, well, you know, look, because it first came to me while Melissa was reading that and it says here in this is book of Second Thessalonians, Paul again, same writer's writing here in Second Thessalonians 3 and 1, he says, finally brethren pray for us that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified even as it is with feathers, and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men for all men have not faith. So here it says not all men do not have faith, but it says there they got it dealt to every man to measure of faith. So a lot of people say like, well, you see that shows right there, they're not everybody's got faith.
So I guess that's me. What no, no, no, think about it. The basic rules of Bible interpretation, who's speaking and who's he speaking about? In there he said, how was that word again read that again?
The last part? Yeah, just where's the, yeah. As God has dealt to every man, the measure of faith. Okay, now, but we'll go back up and for I say through the grace given unto me, to every man, so it's great, keep going.
Among you not to think. Every man among you. See, he's talking about every man among you. Now, what's he talking about, not every man in the world, he's talking about every man among you in the church.
He's talking to believers. Romans was written to believers. He's talking about born against the spirit, for believers. God had dealt to every man, woman in the church, the measure of faith.
And here he's talking about, in Second Thessalonians chapter 3, it says right here, he's talking about that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men, for all men have not faith. He's talking about wicked and unreasonable men. They don't have faith. They're not born again.
God doesn't give children of the devil faith. He doesn't give those without covenant faith. Faith is a gift that is given to us by God. We've seen that.
We've seen that in Ephesians 2, 8. By grace are you safe through faith, what is the gift of God? See, grace is a gift, but so is faith. So God gives you the faith to believe in with all he says, now just act on and use what I've given you, the faith that's in your heart.
And so we see here that God has given to every man the measure of faith, so we all have the measure. And it's up to us to feed our faith, to develop our faith, and to act on our faith so that our faith can grow. You say, well, can your faith grow? Well, yes, it can.
Because if you go back to the book of Second Thessalonians, where I was just from, I was just out just now. And if you read now from the, what is that? Second Thessalonians 1 and 3, let's read that. Second Thessalonians 1 and 3.
I've got so many notes and things in my Bible. Sometimes I turn to pages. Let's read that one for us. Second Thessalonians 1 and 3, so which is 1 and 3.
1 and 3. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is made, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other abounded. We see there that, he Paul was commending them because he could, he could perceive, he could somehow had evidence that that measure of faith that had been given to them by God was growing exceedingly. So so your faith can grow.
You can develop your faith. And not only that, it's worth taking note here that faith works by love according to the book of Galatians 5, I believe it is. It says that faith works by love and so really your faith isn't going to work. It's not going to operate right unless you're walking in love.
And here Paul said they also are abounding in love one toward another. In Romans 5, it tells us, I believe it's 5 and 5, that says the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost. So God not only does he give you faith, but he gives you his love. He puts it inside you and he wants us to develop it.
He wants it to grow. He doesn't want us to remain the same next year as we were this year. He wants us to keep expanding and understanding and learning how to trust him and learning how to love and care about other people around you. It's important.
You got some? Well, and so here we can see that your faith can grow and it can develop and that it is God's will for it to be just as that. And so how is it that we do that? Well, we're going to talk about that.
But let's go now to Matthew chapter 14 and verse 31. Let's go back to the gospels here a little back to look at Matthew. And let's look at different people that Jesus talked about their faith. What I say for 14 and 31.
Okay, read that force. You can read it from here if you want to. Yeah, because it's different than what you've got here. Oh, is it?
Yeah. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand and caught him and said unto him, Thou of little faith, wherefore did it sowed out. Now, I pulled that verse out because that's talking about Peter. That's talking about Jesus when he came walking on the water.
And he asked Peter to step out of the boat and Peter stepped out of the boat. And no, but I want you to notice here that well, let's just let's just look at it just a little closer. So what did you say? I had that wrong.
Well, 31. Yeah, is another parable. That is what you want. That is what you want.
Yeah, 1431. That's what I want. Okay, I'm sorry. Yeah, this is a different parable.
Now, this is one where Peter was a verse 27 straight away Jesus spanking to them saying and be of good cheer. You don't run. You got to get on the right page. You know what I'm saying?
That happens all the time. So that's okay. This is be of good cheer. He said, be of good cheer.
It is I be not afraid of Peter answering him and saying Lord, I'm verse 28. If it be thou, bid me to come to the underwater. We were just talking about that earlier in between some things here. And he said, come.
And when Peter was come down out of the water, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, Bostersom was afraid and beginning to sink and cry, saying, Lord, even save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, cowed him and said into him, oh, thou of little faith, wherefore did this thou doubt? Now, they saw many things that you could bring out of there.
Number one, I mean, number one, you know, Peter was brave enough to get out, you know, and he stepped out of that boat by faith because it wasn't a commcee because it said he saw the waves. He saw the wind, Bosters, not just the wind, but he saw the the, the, the, the, the, the, the, there was waves and there was water splashing in his face. There was all kinds of things. But as long as he was, he was doing what Jesus told him to do and he was coming, he was fine till he started to look around.
Once he began to look around, he began to doubt, you know, because he began to take his eyes off. He took his eyes off of what God said to him, God's word, and he began to look at his circumstances. And Jesus called that little faith. What he said, what did I say?
He said, he said, uh, he said, oh, he, uh, little faith. So you, so we see there that everybody has a, a measure of faith. We see that your faith can grow exceedingly. And you can see from this right here that you can have a little faith.
See faith, he was willing to step out of the boat. The other 11 didn't, but see he allowed circumstances and situations around him to distract him and get him off of God's word because of that. Now listen, he began to sink. Now guys, that right there, what I just said is the answer for somebody by the spirit.
You've been believing God for your healing and you began to see some things. You began to seem like things were getting better, but then you begin to get your mind off of what God's word said and you begin to get your mind on the doctors and all the technical words and the names that they've given you and all the things that goes around that little arena, which is fine. You need to stay, you know, and do your medicine. Don't get me wrong, but you got your, that's where your mind's at now.
And when you got your mind off the word and you got your mind on your circumstances, your situation, the symptoms begin to come back and begin to get stronger. You need to get back on the word. You need to get back on the word. Yes, that's there.
But now listen, don't just have little faith. Stay with it. Don't allow doubt. Jesus told him.
He said, why did you doubt? He said, I said, come when I said come, come, you know, come because you can walk on the water and you can come to me. You don't have to sink. The only way you're going to sink is to get your mind off what I said and get your mind on what everything else around you is saying.
I say, I believe that's a word for somebody out there that's been believing God for healing. And I believe it's not just a small healing. I believe it could be something that could take your life before your time. So I'd receive that right there and I'd really give some thought and study what we're just saying because the Holy Ghost just stopped this program to speak directly to you, Garland, so you need to hear what we're saying.
Amen. So let's go on now. Let's go on to another one. Where we at?
You may lose my place. You have to start all over. Where's that Matthew? That was Matthew.
Let's go to Matthew chapter eight now. Matthew chapter eight and verse 10. This is another good one. Another good one here.
It gives us some example. See, we learn things about God as we look in His word. He's given these things in here for a reason and it helps us to so that we can learn from other people's examples, Jesus' example, from other people's situations they went through. Now, what is this one about now?
Well, let's say this is when Jesus heard it. This is verse 10. He marveled and said unto them. That followed.
We let's read the verse verse. It says, and Jesus heard it. He marveled and said unto them that followed. Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
So we know we're talking about the Centering Soldier here. The Centering Soldier sent servants to Jesus, right? And said, my daughter's sick. She's really bad.
Would you come? And he said, no, don't come to my house. I'm not worthy for you to come into my house because he's a Gentile. And Jesus was a Jew.
And he understood that. And he had enough respect for Jesus that he didn't want to put him in that position. But he also noticed that he understood the authority of Jesus' word because he said, I'm a soldier. He said, I've got men under me.
He said, I don't know how this works. He said, I've watched you. He had to be watching because he knew how he operated. And he's been around him a little bit.
He knew that when I say to a soldier, you go and you do this, I don't have to go follow him and make sure he did it. He goes and does what I say because he knows if he doesn't, he's in trouble. So he will do it. He said, now a few Jesus will just speak the word.
My daughter will be healed. And see, that's what Jesus went, oh my gosh. He said, I've been walking all three years ago and listening to everybody. He said, I have not found, I'm paraphrasing, but it's what he said.
He said, he might have not found anybody, not one Israeli, not one Jew that has had faith like this man. This man has great faith. Why? Because that's an interior and soldier.
Put that much. Now listen, he put, now think about what he did, he put the outcome of his daughter's existence, her life. He laid it on the line at Jesus' word. Now you think about that.
This wasn't a game. She said, she was dying. And he said, I got that much confidence in you and who you are. And when you say something, it shall come to pass.
And I believe that you say the word and she'll be healed. Now he ended up, that he was putting his daughters like, I mean, you know, I put my daughter's life out here. If this don't work, she's going to die. He evidently had that much faith that he believed that whatever you say is going to come to pass.
That's a big deal. That's why Jesus said, oh my gosh. He said, I've not seen anybody in Israel that's got this kind of faith. And he's not even a Jew.
And the gospel at that time wasn't even posted up to the Gentiles. It was to the Jews. Because he may be reading that. It's like we're sick, we can see that one.
Because we don't have that. We'll go into 13 after that so we can conclude that little story there. Oh, okay. And Jesus said unto the centurion, go that way.
And as thou has believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the self-same hour. I'm thinking of Jairus. I got the two mixed up there for a minute.
But you notice there that he said, now notice it, what he believed is what he got. What he believed is what he got. So could you say that that's why people say, well, why, you know, they blame things on God. Well, why, why do you allow this?
Why does he, you know, why am I going through this? You know, when we hear it all the time, you know, things that, you know, it's always God's fault. But here, Jesus said, as thou has believed, so be it unto you. Now, does that just mean in that particular situation?
Or does that mean that what I believe in my life on a daily basis is what's drawing things to me or repelling things away from me? So if I believe that bad things happen to me all the time, does that mean then that I'm actually causing bad things to come into my life? Can you see what I'm saying? Well, I don't, we don't have this on here, but let's turn to the book of Romans chapter four.
And we'll look at that one. Romans chapter four, another good example here of someone's faith. And we'll talk about Abraham, the Bible refers to him as the father of our faith. The father of our faith, because he was the first one that we know of, you know, that stepped out that we have record of that actually stepped out and trust God and God was able to do things in his life through faith.
Now, this is the book of Romans chapter four. We were there once before and well, it's a, oh gosh, what do you start? We don't want to go to 16. Let's just go down to verse 18.
Well, I can't do it. Let's go to 17, at least. It says, as it is written, I have made you a father of nations and this is God's promise to him. This was God's word to him.
This was like Peter's word was come. This is what God's, this is his word. He said, I have made you the father of many nations before whom. Now, listen, they stopped by Abraham now before whom he believed even God who quick enough or makes alive the dead.
And he calls those things that be not as though they were who against hope believed in hope that he might become the father of many nations according as it is, it was spoken. So shall thy seed be him. Now, listen to verse 19 and be not weak in faith, be not weak in faith. Now, listen, he considered not his own body now dead.
Now, does that not sound like Peter walking underwater? See, Peter could have had strong faith if he had not considered the wind. Here it says Abraham had strong faith because he knew that God had promised him that he would be the father of many nations and he knew it would come through the child that was born to them, through him and Sarah. And so it says he considered not his own body now being dead because they were both supposedly past the age of giving birth to children.
Now notice he said, considered not. What does it mean to consider not? What does he think about it? He didn't think about it, did he?
He didn't get his mind on it. He didn't allow that to distract him and instead around all day long and say, boy, she sure does look old, doesn't she? And he told me she's going to have my child. She could hardly get around and she's going to carry a child for nine months.
I mean, consider not a man. He had to think. He may not have thought that, but he had to deal with thoughts in his mind of just how impossible this is. But he chose not to allow that to distract him, but he kept his mind focused and his thoughts focused on the word that God had given him.
And because of that, it came to pass. And God in his words spoke and said, that's strong faith and it gives glory to God and it gives glory to God. So you can see that you can, you know, everybody has that measure of faith. So how does it give glory to God when you have strong faith?
How does it give glory to God? I guess you think about it. I mean, if you guys, well, we know that it pleases God and we know, well, we just know because you've got this thing going on out here. You've got this lawless spirit, the devil, who is out here to do nothing but still kill and destroy.
And he don't, and he don't just kill, still kill and destroy the world. He does Christians. He's going about seeking whom he can to devire. Well, if you can step right in the middle of that arena and take God's at his word and allow God to work in you and sue you and defeat the enemy, that gives glory to God.
It's the defeating of the enemy. Is it not when the centurion sold her, when he lived? Is it not when the child was born? See, it's the outcome of the fruit of the word that brings the glory to God.
It's not dying in the middle of your lost hope. Oh, no, no, that's, that's what we're saying. Really honestly, I'll be honest with you. You're probably not ready for this, but I won't tell you anyway.
Okay. So just brace yourself and give it some thought. Don't throw it out too quickly. Okay.
When people, when good Christians that love the Lord, they struggle, they struggle and the devil is able to destroy their lives, you know, through sickness and disease and whatever. Now listen, it embarrasses God because you have to realize guys, it's not just this world around us. Human beings only serve. There's another dimension out here where there's angels and there's demonic activity.
And you've got this force of darkness over here that's trying to destroy this person's life and life and while they are and they're life and at God, see, and in God's trying his best to get the truth to them, trying to help them and cause them to live out their life or to be able to receive from him whatever it is that he has for them. And then when the devil's able to overcome that, can't you just see all the forces of hell just celebrating because they were able to overcome. See, there's a thing going on out here in the spiritual room. We don't think, realize it's going on.
And so when you use your faith and you overcome in life, it just, it changes things, you know, and it really, it brings glory to God. I don't know that we would have seen the story of Abraham having not been able to fulfill the promise. He couldn't have been a father of faith. He would have been in the Bible.
He would not have been the father of our faith if he had not, but see, he was a man, and he didn't just get overnight to that place where he was able to believe God. I mean, there was a point in his life. You go back and you read the example, Sarah laughed and the angels heard her and said, why did you laugh? She said, I didn't laugh.
I said, oh, yeah, we heard you, you laughed. Trust me, you laughed. And she did. And Abraham himself laughed.
And more than once he'd come to God, well, God, when am I going to say, well, it was, he was 75 when the promise was first given to him. And he was 100 when it came to pass. It took God 25 years to school him in faith to get him to that place where that he could believe God without considering circumstance. He had to change his name.
It's one of the reasons I believe he changed his name from Abraham to Abraham because Abraham means the father of many people or a nation. And so I think that's good, you know that because he was willing to believe God, see, there's nothing that God does not have for you and that you cannot get from him, that he's told us in his word that belongs to us. You can, everything in there, you can receive by faith, but you have to understand faith. You have to know how it works.
And then one, you can't fight it. You got to listen, faith is your friend. Faith is your friend. You need to buddy up with faith.
You need to understand faith. And remember, when we say faith, we're not talking about faith in general in things or in people or in this world system. We're talking about faith in the almighty God that loves us and have to give us his son and is provided for us, everything we could ever imagine and need in his life. He's provided it.
But all of it comes to us by faith. You have something? Sure. Okay, let's let this hear a little further.
It is here in Romans 4 because there's a lot of things that we could say about this. It says here that, I noticed it says that he speaks things that be not, as though they were. You find that what verse was that? 20 as he staggered not at the house.
I got to get back where I was at. I wonder what it didn't look right. And this is verse 17. It says, and who quickened that they are talking about God and call off those things that be not as though they were.
See, that's, see, that's the thing with faith is that people don't understand is, is, you know, they want to, they want to believe it when they see it. But the only way you're going to see it is you got to believe it first. See, believing is seen. Not seeing is believing.
You have to believe in this, you're so many people. Now, listen, this is, this is the reason that that centurion soldier had that kind of faith and could believe God at the level that he could was because I promise you, this man spent some time thinking about this. And because of his position, and where he was in the Roman military system, it gave him an advantage because he understood that level of authority and he understood the spoken word, you know, but he had to spend some time thinking about that. It's, you know, what happens is with us, we, you know, we want to believe God.
We want to receive from God, but we haven't taken the time to feed our faith and act on the faith that we have at the level where we are and then something like big bump in life will come along and we want to try to believe God when we didn't practice believing for the little things. You see what I'm saying? And so now you're at this place where circumstances just overwhelm you. It's a, it's a daily process.
Feeding your faith is an everyday thing, just like, you know, growth in your mind or, you know, your, your physical, you know, it's all, it's all a continued growth thing. But the thing about it is we're never left alone. Even at those times when we feel like we're not where we need to be in faith, you know, God never forsakes us. He never leaves us and he's always encouraging us to believe in him and we do decide for you.